Who won the Battle of the Barrels?

A beer with a coconut. Another one with pepper, while a third was made with bacon. And the fourth, well, there were too many ingredients to list.

Those were the beers I was tasked with judging on Wednesday at the first Jackís Abby Brewingís Battle of the Barrels at the British Beer Company in Framingham.

I was one of four judges (the otherís being Jamie McGee of Yankee Brew News, Todd Bellomy of Boston Beer Company and Aaron Mateychuk of Watch City Brewing Company) who were taste all four entries to determine the winner.

The event was fun Ė those who attended could also order flights of the four beers and then vote on what was best. Each of the beers was the same base beer, Jack Abbyís popular Smoke & Dagger aged in bourbon barrels.

However, each brewer taking part in the Battle of the Barrels had a $40 limit to add any ingredient they wanted to. The entrants were Jack Hendler (co-owner of Jackís Abby), as well as his two assistant brewers Mike Gleason and Matt Cohen. The fourth entrant was Dan Eng, owner of Barleycornís in Natick.

Now, if you read this blog on a regular basis, you know I have a slight (OK, mega) bias toward coconut beers and everything coconut. So, I kind of expected to pick Mike Gleasonís Almond Joy beer, which was brewed with coconut and almond, as my winner.

Two other beers also looked interesting. Matt Cohenís creation was called the Baconator, and it was brewed with maple bacon, maple syrup and bourbon. Hendlerís concoction was made with pistachio, coffee, chocolate, cherrywood smoked malt, cranberries and ginger.

Photo by Aaron Mateychuk

The one beer I was convinced I would hate was Engís Numb Swagger. His beer was made with Szechuan peppers. I hate peppers. I have never liked any kind of pepper. I donít even have the normal table pepper in my house.

So, imagine my surprise when I voted for the Numb Swagger. It was absolutely incredible. It had a fruitiness to it, and floral notes, that I never expected from peppers. I would buy this beer today if it was in stores.

I wasnít the only one who felt this way. The other judges gave Eng the unanimous win. The popular vote went to Gleasonís Almond Joy beer.

All four beers were very good, though. And, if you didnít get a chance to try them on Wednesday, donít fret. All four beers will be available for samples at the brewery until theyíre gone. If I were you, Iíd go Ö now.

Norman Miller

A beer with a coconut. Another one with pepper, while a third was made with bacon. And the fourth, well, there were too many ingredients to list.

Those were the beers I was tasked with judging on Wednesday at the first Jackís Abby Brewingís Battle of the Barrels at the British Beer Company in Framingham.

I was one of four judges (the otherís being Jamie McGee of Yankee Brew News, Todd Bellomy of Boston Beer Company and Aaron Mateychuk of Watch City Brewing Company) who were taste all four entries to determine the winner.

The event was fun Ė those who attended could also order flights of the four beers and then vote on what was best. Each of the beers was the same base beer, Jack Abbyís popular Smoke & Dagger aged in bourbon barrels.

However, each brewer taking part in the Battle of the Barrels had a $40 limit to add any ingredient they wanted to. The entrants were Jack Hendler (co-owner of Jackís Abby), as well as his two assistant brewers Mike Gleason and Matt Cohen. The fourth entrant was Dan Eng, owner of Barleycornís in Natick.

Now, if you read this blog on a regular basis, you know I have a slight (OK, mega) bias toward coconut beers and everything coconut. So, I kind of expected to pick Mike Gleasonís Almond Joy beer, which was brewed with coconut and almond, as my winner.

Two other beers also looked interesting. Matt Cohenís creation was called the Baconator, and it was brewed with maple bacon, maple syrup and bourbon. Hendlerís concoction was made with pistachio, coffee, chocolate, cherrywood smoked malt, cranberries and ginger.

Photo by Aaron Mateychuk

The one beer I was convinced I would hate was Engís Numb Swagger. His beer was made with Szechuan peppers. I hate peppers. I have never liked any kind of pepper. I donít even have the normal table pepper in my house.

So, imagine my surprise when I voted for the Numb Swagger. It was absolutely incredible. It had a fruitiness to it, and floral notes, that I never expected from peppers. I would buy this beer today if it was in stores.

I wasnít the only one who felt this way. The other judges gave Eng the unanimous win. The popular vote went to Gleasonís Almond Joy beer.

All four beers were very good, though. And, if you didnít get a chance to try them on Wednesday, donít fret. All four beers will be available for samples at the brewery until theyíre gone. If I were you, Iíd go Ö now.

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